Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) Shares Gap Up Following Insider Buying Activity

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO) shares gapped up before the market opened on Monday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $5.79, but opened at $6.16. Grocery Outlet shares last traded at $6.2550, with a volume of 764,083 shares trading hands.

Specifically, CEO Jason J. N. Potter purchased 286,097 shares of Grocery Outlet stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $5.90 per share, with a total value of $1,687,972.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 574,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,388,759.40. This trade represents a 99.25% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Erik D. Ragatz purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $5.75 per share, for a total transaction of $287,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 526,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,027,375. The trade was a 10.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In related news, Director Erik D. Ragatz acquired 33,997 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $5.85 per share, for a total transaction of $198,882.45. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 476,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,787,525. This trade represents a 7.68% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on GO. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Grocery Outlet from $11.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 5th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $11.50 target price on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group lowered Grocery Outlet from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $15.00 to $9.00 in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Grocery Outlet from $10.50 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $10.68.

Grocery Outlet Stock Up 7.3%

The company has a market cap of $610.00 million, a P/E ratio of -2.72, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $8.89 and a 200 day moving average of $11.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.02). Grocery Outlet had a positive return on equity of 5.93% and a negative net margin of 4.80%.The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.15 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Grocery Outlet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.450-0.550 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Grocery Outlet

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GO. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Grocery Outlet by 54.0% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,763,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,216,000 after acquiring an additional 5,528,722 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Grocery Outlet by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,255,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,685,000 after purchasing an additional 213,325 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Grocery Outlet by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,709,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,757,000 after purchasing an additional 22,418 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Grocery Outlet by 5.0% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,619,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,149,000 after purchasing an additional 221,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Grocery Outlet by 0.5% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,577,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,467,000 after purchasing an additional 20,819 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.87% of the company’s stock.

About Grocery Outlet

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: GO) is a specialty discount retailer that offers consumers deeply discounted groceries by purchasing excess inventory, closeouts, and overstocks from manufacturers and distributors. Headquartered in Emeryville, California, the company operates two primary banners—Grocery Outlet and Fresh2Go—with a combined footprint of more than 400 stores. Its product assortment spans fresh produce, meat, dairy, bakery items, household staples, natural and organic offerings, and select specialty products, all sold at significant markdowns compared to conventional supermarkets.

The company’s unique buying model enables it to source inventory through opportunistic purchases of surplus freight, discontinued items, and closeout deals, which it then passes on as savings to its customers.